Recent slow down in connection

[Douglas_ben]

Hi

I have wondows XP Media, and just recently feel that my internet connection has really suffered and slowed down.

 

From another thread speed checks were suggested so here they are:-

http://www.numion.com/YourSpeed3/ShowMeasurement.php?ID=68,715,600

 

http://www.speedtest.net/result/418680641.png

 

I am using a Netgear Wirless ADSL Router DG834G, and the stats show 1152kbps Downstream, and 32 kbps upstream.

 

I know that the upstream value has been higher before. (Around 100 i think)

 

A couple of weeks ago had a couple of connection problems, but put them down to Tiscali.

 

Line Attenuation53 db15.5 dbNoise Margin19 db15 db

 

are also shown.

 

This is supposed to be an 8meg connection, but may have heard that 2meg maximum at moment. Also not sure what all these mean but thought best to post maximum info.

 

Look forward to hearing from you

Douglas

[Dalo Harkin]

Right - there is a big problem when ISP's tell you the speed of the connection - if its a 2MB connection - thats what you would get if you were on the doorstep of the exchange - the further away you get the worse it gets im afraid.

 

so unless the router is severely limiting your connection, which can be the case if not properly configured.

 

run the line directly into the PC without the router and run the test again

[BeeCeeBee]

Just to add a bit to Dalo Harkin's comments. Your line attenuation, which as I understand it deals with quality, is not very good. It should be around 30 give or take. That being said, it should not keep you from getting better download speed than what you are showing. I would suggest though that getting anything over 2000 is wishful thinking at best.

[Douglas_ben]

I tried to put the phone line directly to the pc and could not connect.

(I took the phone pluc from the router direct to back of pc, tried 2 sockets (neither labelled) and could not connect to internet.

 

So am back to normal in replying.......................

[DSTM]

I had a slowdown problem, with the same modem router, and got onto my ISP.Their techies from Moombi, said these modem routers, if left on for long,actualy fall into Sleep Mode.

They said to pull the power,wait 30 sec and replace.It fixed mine.

Also they told me to get the modem up off anything, if it's sitting flat on, as they tend to get hot,if not ventilated on all sides.

Fixed my slowness.

[Dalo Harkin]

  DSTM said:

I had a slowdown problem, with the same modem router, and got onto my ISP.Their techies from Moombi, said these modem routers, if left on for long,actualy fall into Sleep Mode.

They said to pull the power,wait 30 sec and replace.It fixed mine.

Also they told me to get the modem up off anything, if it's sitting flat on, as they tend to get hot,if not ventilated on all sides.

Fixed my slowness.

 

 

I just wanted to thank Doug for posting this, this proves that a member may have the solution that you need -

thanks Doug

[Douglas_ben]

ADSL LinkDownstreamUpstreamConnection Speed1152 kbps288 kbpsLine Attenuation53 db15.5 dbNoise Margin24 db22 db

 

 

Amazing!! Upstream Value jumped to over 288 after "reset"

 

Who said turning on and then turning off doesnt work.........

 

http://www.speedtest.net/result/418702937.png

 

Thanks very much guys, really appreciate the speedy response!

Edited February 26, 2009 by Douglas_ben

[Douglas_ben]

Upstream Connection Speed

 

Hi All,

 

Apologies for the probably ridiculous question:- but UpStream Connection Speed, what is it dependant on?

 

Since resetting my router as suggested, it has dived back down to 60kbps, from over 200(after the power off - was around 30 before reset)

Is it dependant on total broadbabd useage?

 

If you could give me any pointers I would be grateful

Thanks Guys

Edited February 26, 2009 by Douglas_ben

[BeeCeeBee]

Upload speed is nothing more than a measure of the time it takes for data to go from your computer to the server while download speed it the exact opposite.

 

Both are dependent on many factors including the line quality, distance, amount of bandwidth being used in your service area etc.

 

Upload speed will always be considerably slower than download speed. However, you will be hard pressed to notice that. When you are experiencing a slow connection it will be the download speed that you are noticing.

[DSTM]

I find the speeds vary all the time.

In London now at 3.40pm, I would think your speeds are slower, as beeceebee says, more bandwith is being used,in the busy part of the Day.

Here in Sydney,it's 2.40am and I find my speeds are fast, at this time of the morning, when most people are asleep.

You can do tests at different times of the Day,and all results vary.:)

[BeeCeeBee]

I just want to qualify one thing I said about upload speed. A slow upload speed will mainly go unnoticed while surfing the net except for the fact that when download is slowed, usually there is a corresponding slow down of both. Not always however.

 

Where you will notice a slow upload is when you are sending email with attachments, filling in forms or uploading photos, basically any time that you are transferring any data "away" from your pc.

[Douglas_ben]

Hi all, thanks for the responses.

However, I am Definatley seeing a slow down on my internet connection. It was visably quicker after resetting the router, although only the upstream value changed (as far as I could see)

I know people may complain at the slightest thing, but the recent slow down has been obvious, and is not as good as previously experienced before Christmas for example.

Can you suggest any other test or checks? Tiscali are notorious for "no technical issues in your area sir.." so they rarely admit to an issue at their end.

I would appreciate any help.

 

Thanks again.

[BeeCeeBee]

Assuming there is nothing wrong with your hardware, and there is no reason to assume otherwise, there really isn't much you can do but keep checking at various times. I have always found speedtest.net to be pretty accurate and consistent with others.

 

Have you noticed any difference if you connect by way of ethernet? Sorry if you have already been asked that. I am being lazy.

 

If Tiscali is of no help your only hope may be to have your telephone line checked by BT or whoever the provider may be. As I indicated, your line attenuation is not great but should be able to provide speeds higher than what you are showing. But again, that is just one of several factors.

Edited February 27, 2009 by BeeCeeBee

[Douglas_ben]

Ethernet?

 

My PC is hardwired into the router, the wireless was for works laptop that I no longer use. (This is a home setup)

 

Do you believe that the complete slowdown is due to ISP / Line then?

[BeeCeeBee]

Sorry I told you I was being lazy! Personally yes that is what I believe. If you want to go to the trouble or expense of trying a different router or connecting a different pc you may be able discover something else. But my guess is that the result would be the same.

[Guest Wolfeymole]

How long is the RJ11 cable from the incoming BT wall box to the modem?

[Douglas_ben]

I am not entirely sure. it looks to be around 3-4 metres, where we have the telephone point. Connected to this is the filter, which then connects to the router and telephone line.

Upstairs there is a telephone extension, approx 4 m total from the downstairs socket.

 

However this set up has not changed from when we had the good connection speed. As far as I can remember there is no "Hard Ware" difference, and yet we have had a slowdown.

 

Thinking about it, IExplorer seems to lock up or "not responding" more often, (couple of days between incidents) but I put this down to excessive time to update with connection speed. Even yesterday on here I lost this site and had to restart!

Have not had that issue since powering down router, however is still quite slow.

 

Any further thoughts?

Thanks very much

[BeeCeeBee]

Keep in mind that a speed test is nothing more than a snapshot. Failure to load a page one minute and then the same page is perfectly fine the next is an indication that the problem lies with the ISP or with the line.

 

The length of the cable was a good thought but yours is not particularly long.

 

We all wish we could find a solution that we can do for ourselves but, in the end, we are simply at the mercy of the providers.

[Guest Wolfeymole]

Ok I'd give BT a shout and ask em to test the line.

 

Is this speed variation just general internet usage or some gaming site thing?

 

Run a test through this also.

 

VisualRoute traceroute: connection test, trace IP address, IP trace, IP address locations

[Douglas_ben]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

VisualRoute Connection Test to 62.64.180.208

Performed on 27 Feb 2009 10:29:41 GMT

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

| Hop | %loss | IP Address | Node Name | Location | ms | Graph | Network |

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

| 0 | 0 | 205.177.182.160 | services.visualware.co.uk | London, UK | - | | Defender Technologies Group LLC DTGL-BNA42-6 |

| 1 | 0 | 205.177.182.1 | ge0-23.uk.telecity.defenderhosting.com | London, UK | 5 | +---- | Defender Technologies Group LLC DTGL-BNA42-6 |

| 2 | 0 | 208.178.62.197 | - | Phoenix, AZ, USA? | 25 | -+-------- | Global Crossing GBLX-5 |

| 3 | 0 | 213.200.77.233 | xe-0-0-0-0.lon10.ip.tiscali.net | London, UK | 0 | +- | Tiscali International Network B.V. |

| 4 | 0 | 89.149.185.73 | xe-9-0-0.lon20.ip.tiscali.net | London, UK | 0 | + | Tiscali International Network B.V. |

| 5 | 0 | 213.200.79.186 | tiscali-uk-gw2.ip.tiscali.net | London, UK | 0 | + | Tiscali International Network B.V. |

| ... | - | - | - | - | - | | - |

| ? | - | 62.64.180.208 | 62-64-180-208.dynamic.dial.as9105.com | (United Kingdom)? | - | | Tiscali UK Limited |

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

This is all I could get from the test to show you. Hope it makes sense?

I have stopped playing games that I could play before, as other complained about poor connection. (Same games being played were ok before).

But also noticed on general useage.

 

Have updated Graphics driver yesterday as part of process Radeon x300/500 series.

 

What do you think?

[Tootech]

Just looking through the figures you have given...

 

  Quote

ADSL LinkDownstreamUpstreamConnection Speed1152 kbps288 kbpsLine Attenuation53 db15.5 dbNoise Margin

 

Your line can take about 2.2Mb/s connection give or take a little.

 

The 1152 figure is the ADSL negotiation speed - not your available download speed.

 

Each time you reboot the router it will re-negotiate the ADSL, often at a different speed - that is dependant on the quality of the line at that particular time.

 

Your upload speed is normally about a quarter of the download speed - so 250 is would be about right - your first set of figures were abysmal.

 

If your speed it wildy fluctuating and it didn't used to, you may have a line fault beginning to show.

 

Keep an eye on it for a week or so, morning and evening and log the speeds - it may help later.

 

have a look here for a good speedtest, if you create an account you can log the results.

 

Broadband » Test it » Fix it » Boost it!

 

Your broadband supplier aint easy to convince - I know through bitter experience. If it continues to be slow, tell them it often below the legal threshold they have to supply - I think it is 224Kb/s, I can check if you need more info.

 

Getting through to second level Tech Support is where you need to be.

 

BT won't touch it unless your phone is playing up - all your support for ADSL has to come from your supplier through to BT.

 

Let us know how your speed checks go and if you do manage to get tech support on your side.

[Douglas_ben]

Thanks for that info. If you could tell me the minimum they need to supply before approching them, I can be a liitle more "aggressive" on the phone to get them to investigate.

 

Thanks very much in advance

[DSTM]

You will get nowhere,being aggressive.Best to kiss Butt with these Guys.

I average 4-5000 KB/S download speed.If it falls, to say 1500 KB/S, for an extended period of time,I am straight on the phone, asking them why, and to check my line speed.

There are no set minimums,I am aware of,Douglas.

Have you asked them yet?

You have every right, to ask them Questions.:)

[Tootech]

  Quote

You will get nowhere,being aggressive.Best to kiss Butt with these Guys.

Agreed - its more a case of knowing what to ask and how to ask it. Tiscali are not known for their helpfulness, and getting to real tech support can be a bit of a challenge.

 

Have a look here and find your line rate

 

BT Broadband

 

The performance threshold for up to 1152kb/s line rate is 200kb/s, and above that to 2272kb/is 400 kb/s.

 

The performance threshold is the minimum speed required for your ISP to consider that you have a line fault.

 

I picked up that info from the Zen Internet site - they are king of broadband and excellent tech support, and their info reflects the BT ruling. There's alot more info on their site that may help you out.

 

Zen Support Knowledge Base v1.0

 

Also, you ought to know that extension wiring in your house can affect your ADSL. If you have the older style faceplate, and/or internal wiring that utilises wire number 3 - the bell wire - this can affect your ADSL reliabilty.

 

Do a Google for "bell wire ADSL faults".

 

I have to agree with DSTM that if you can't get a decent service and tech support it is maybe time to move on.